Lock



Jan. 12, 1943. A. N. MESSINA LOCK Filed April 8, 1942 fella lNvENfroR yUW 7L'eJszlna/ Patente-d Jan. 12, 1943 l 'i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE'LOCK Anthony N. Messina, New York, N. Y.

Application April 8, 1942, Serial No. 438,205

`(VCI. 'l0- 67) 8 Claims.

This invention relates to locks and more particularly to the typeemployed on bags, briefcases, luggage and similar goods. The primaryobject of the invention is to provide a lock having a minimum of parts,whereby improved operation and also simplicity of assembly is attainedwith a resultant decrease in manufacturing cost.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a lock of the characterdescribed, simplified means by which the tumbler is held in eitheroperative or inoperative position, said means comprising a resilientdetent for engagement with the tumbler, said detent being formed on andconstituting an integral portion of the housing of the lock wherebyaccurate assembly of the parts is attained and smoothness of operationby the movlng parts of the lock is assured.

More particularly, the invention contemplates the provision of a lockhousing having a back plate overlying a slidable bolt and tumblertherefor, with the back plate` formed with several spaced slits forminga resilient strip portion between them, said strip portion having aninwardly-pressed projection constituting a detent and adapted for snapengagement with one or the other of several recesses or aperturesprovided in the tumbler, so that through said engagement the tumblerwill be retained in either operative or inoperative position in which itis placed by manipulation of the key.

These and other objects are attained by the invention, a more particulardescription of which will hereinafter appear and be pointed out in theclaims appended hereto.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing forming a parthereof, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through a lock madein accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line2-2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 3 is asectionall The improved lock, which is primarily intendedV for use onbrief-cases, bags or articles of luggage, although capable of otherapplications, includes a housing primarily composed of the two parts Iand 2 connected together to enclose the working parts of the lockbetween them. The part designated at I constitutes the front portion ofthe housing and is preferably stamped from sheet metal to provide a faceplate 3` surrounded by an inwardly extending continuous flange 4. Holesare provided through the face plate 3 for the reception of rivets 5 orother equivalent fastening l of bent-over tongues 9 formed on the frontmember I and entering suitable apertures provided in the back element 2for their reception.

The bolt 8 is mounted for sliding reception between the members I and 2of the housing, said bolt consisting of a flat plate having the tongueportion 1 normally extended out of opening 32 in the back housing member2 and into the hasp opening B by means of the leaf spring I0 having oneleg exerting pressure against the end of the bolt 8 and its other legoperative against the ilange 34 on the back member 2 of the housing.

The bolt 8 is normally maintained inthe projected position shown inFigs. 1, 2 and 5 by means of the spring I0 and when the lock is .in itsunf locked position, the bolt may be manually retracted by means of thenger-piece Il disposed on the front of the housing member I. Tongues I2formed on the iinger piece, extend through slots I3 in the housingmember l, saidtongues extending through apertures in the bolt and beingbent over on the back of the bolt as clearly indicated in Figs. 2 and 4,so that when finger pressure is imposed upon the finger-piece l I, thebolt 8 will be retracted against the pressure of spring I'D and thetongue 'i withdrawn from engagement with the hasp loop 30.

At I4 is shown the tumbler of the lock, the same consisting of a smallat plate corresponding in thickness to the bolt and transverselyslidable within an aperture I5 formed in the body of the bolt. The loweredge of the tumbler is formed with -a notch I8 for engagement by a keyentrant through the key holes I'I and I8 provided in the front member Iand linger-piece I I of the lock. When the key is turned to the right,as

viewed from the rear of the lock, the tumbler willbe shifted to theright end of aperture I5, as shown in Fig. 6, and while the tumblerremains in this position, the lock is in its unlocked position and thebolt may be retracted by pressure imposed on the linger-piece li. Aslong as the tumbler remains in this position, the lock can be manuallyoperated. On the other hand, when the key is turned toward the left, asviewed in Fig. 5, this will shift the tumbler in that direction so thata shoulder portion i9 providedk on the tumbler will ride over aprojecting lug 20 extending inwardly from the rear member 2 of thehousing. The engagement of the shoulder portion lil with the lug 20 asclearly seen in Fig. 5 will prevent downward sliding movement of thetumbler, and since the tumbler is conned within the aperture l of thebolt 3, the bolt will thus be prevented from being retracted byIpressure on the finger piece Il and thus the lock will remain in lockedcondition as long as the shoulder I9 engages the lug 20.

In order to maintain the tumbler in either of its two positions, adetent 2| is provided. The detent consists of an inwardly .forcedprojection located on a resilient strip portion 22 integrally formed onthe back member 2 of the housing. The strip portion is formed byproviding spaced parallel slits 23 in the back member of the housing,said slits extending transversely of the bolt, and since the stri-p isrelatively narrow and the material of the housing relatively thin, thestrip is resilient and the detent 2| is therefore adapted for snapengagement with either of the spaced apertures 2d and 25 provided in thetumbler. These apertures are so situated that when the tumbler isdisposed at the limit of its movement to the right as shown in Fig. 6,or when the lock is in unlocked position, the ydetent. will enter theaperture 24, and when the tumbler is in the position at the left of theaperture l5, as shown in Fig. 5, the detent will be engaged with theaperture 25. It will be noted that the aperture 24 is elongated so thatwhen the detent is in engagement with this aperture, the tumbler will becapable of retracting movement in company with the bolt as seen in Fig.6, without interference 4from the detent.

It Will be clear from the foregoing that when the key is operated, thetumbler can be placed in either inoperative or operative position andthat the snap engagement of the detent with either of the apertures inthe tumbler Will retain the tumbler in the desired position untilshifted therefrom by further key manipulation. The formation of thedetent on an integral resilient strip portion of the housing insuresaccurate complementary fitment of the several operating parts of thelock; it greatly simpliiies assembly of the lock parts; minimizes thenumber of parts employed and insures smoothness of operation of thelock.

While I have shown and described one embodiment of the invention, it isobvious that the same may be modiiied in numerous ways without departingfrom the spirit of the invention. For example, while the resilient stripportion 22 and the detent 2l formed thereon are described Ias beingformed on the back member of the housing, it will be obvious that thesame may, with facility, be provided on the front or other portion ofthe housing. Also, While the strip portion and detent are located toengage with apertures provided in a transversely slidable tumbler, theseelements may be otherwise arranged to engage with a tumbler operative insome other direction. These and other modifications may be readily madeas will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

What I claim is:

1. In a lock, a housing including front and back members, a sliding boltconfined between said members, a key-actuated tumbler constituting partof means for restraining movement of the bolt when the tumbler is in oneposition and permitting movement of the bolt when the tumbler is in asecond position, and a resilient strip formed in one of the walls of oneof the housing members and constituting an integral part of said memberand a part of the wall in which it is located and engaging the tumblerto thereby hold it in one or the other of its two positions.

2. In a lock, a slidable bolt, a stop, a tumbler movable to co-operatewith the stop to restrain the bolt against slidable movement, saidtumbler having spaced apertures, a housing member extending over thebolt and tumbler, said housing member being provided with spaced slitsforming a resilient strip between them, said strip carrying a projectionfor snap engagement with either of the apertures in the tumbler.

3. In a lock, a. housing provided with front and back members, a boltslidable in the space between said members, spring means for urging thebolt to advanced position, a tumbler movable transversely of the beltfor maintaining the bolt in said advanced position, spring means forholding the tumbler in operative or inoperative positions, said springmeans comprising a stripextending transversely of the bolt and overlyinga face of the tumbler and consisting of a face portion of the backmember of the housing, said strip having an inwardly-forced integraldetent, the tumbler having apertures for engagement with the detent whenthe tumbler is in either operative or inoperative position.

4. In a lock, a housing having a back plate, a bolt movable in thehousing, a stop, a tumbler movable to engage against the stop andprevent movement of the bolt, the tumbler having spaced apertures, thebackplate of the housing being provided with a pair of spaced slits in aportion overlying the plane of the tumbler, said slits providing aresilient strip portion between them, and a projection forced out of thestrip and directed toward the tumbler and adapted for snap engagementwith either of the apertures therein.

5. In a lock, a housing provided with a back plate, a slidable bolt inthe housing, a spring for normally maintaining the bolt in extendedposition, a key-operated tumbler and a stop for holding the boltVagainst retractive movement, and means for holding the tumbler ineither operative or inoperative position, said means comprising a detentformed on a resilient portion of the back plate having its planeextending parallel to the plane of the tumbler, the tumbler having atleast one aperture for snap engagement with said detent.

6. In a lock, a housing composed of united front and back sections, abolt disposed between the sections and having a portion adapted forprojection out ofthe housing, a spring in the housing operative on saidbolt to normally hold the same in its projected position, a iiat,apertured tumbler in the casing and movable by keyactuation to preventretractive movement of the bolt, said tumbler being also adapted to Ibemoved to inoperative position to be thereby ineffective to preventretractive movement of the bolt, the rear section of the housingconsisting of a at plate portion overlying a face of the tumbler andprovided with a pair of substantially parallel slits producing anelongated resilient strip between them having its plane extending overthe plane of the tumbler and overlying a face of said tumbler, and adetent integrally formed on said strip for engaging the apertures in thetumbler to hold the tumbler in either of its two positions.

7. In a lock, a housing composed of a front and a back portion, a boltin the form of a iiat plate slidable Within the casing and having a partnormally extended out of the same, a spring for urging the bolt toprojected position, the bolt having an opening extending through it, atumbler located in said opening and movable by key-actuationtransversely of the bolt to locked or free position, a fixed stop on thehousing 1ocated in the opening, the tumbler having a shoulder engageablewith said stop when the tumbler is moved by key operation to lockedposition to thereby prevent retraction of the bolt, a part of thehousing being formed with an integral resilient portion maintained inthe same plane as the plane of the part of the housing in which it isformed, said portion having a detent, the tumbler having at least twospaced elongated apertures for selective engagement by the detent tothereby'hold the tnumbler in either its locked or free position.

8. In a lock, a housing including spaced-apart Wall portions, a boltslidably mounted between the Wall portions, a tumbler slidabletransversely of the bolt, the tumbler having spaced apertures, a detentformed on one of the wall portions and projecting inwardly Within thehousing and adapted for engagement with one or the other of theapertures in the tumbler, at least one of the apertures in the tumblerbeing elongated whereby the tumbler and the bolt are capable of slidablemovement together relative to the detent when the detent is inengagement with the elongated slot.

ANTHONY N. MESSINA.

